In an article reported by the Telegraph, Kurzweil says that our technological and genetic know-how is marching at such a furious pace that in 20 years' time we should be holding in our sweaty, excitable hands the nanotechnological secrets of our existence.

This charmingly optimistic view is but another string hanging from the nano-forecasting bow he's been wearing for years, along with his rather singular vision of the way men and machines will cohabit happily ever after.

Extraordinary nanotechnological secrets should allow us, according to Kurzweil, to replace our kidneys, livers, hearts and, hey, what about minds, with functioning vital organs made by human hands.

They say Kurzweil is 61. He doesn't look a day over 43 to me.
Null0/Flickr

Kurzweil's contemplations, first published in The Sun, offer us these vast nuggets of hope: "I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogram our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, aging. Then nanotechnology will let us live for ever."

Yes, you can be 28 again. You can drink yourself stupid and let those nano-nano folks just slip you a new liver. You can have sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and still be able to perform Whitney Houston karaoke better than Whitney herself can these days.

"If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go," said Kurzweil. "Virtual sex will become commonplace. And in our daily lives, hologram-like figures will pop in our brain to explain what is happening."

One can only hope those hologram-like figures don't resemble the chaps from Google too closely.

And I am not entirely sure I am persuaded by the concept of virtual sex. Perhaps worse would be the concept of some Googleperson-like hologram talking one through virtual sex. And whispering to one after it.

Still, Kurzweil's passionate certainty offers us all hope for a very different future from the one we might have imagined.

About the author

Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world.
See full bio